


that hidden universe of your smile

by becketz



Category: Wonder Woman (2017)
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-06-11
Updated: 2017-06-11
Packaged: 2018-11-12 23:30:33
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,538
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11172363
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/becketz/pseuds/becketz
Summary: Steve's not quite sure what to make of waking up in a cornfield with a man in a skintight blue bodysuit bent over him, peering at him with concern.





	that hidden universe of your smile

Diana is tired. 

It’s been a long day at the Louvre and an even longer night with the League. Diana may be a demigod, but even she needs to sleep, to recharge. The sun is starting to peek over the horizon, the sky turning gentle pinks and purples. Diana breathes in the crisp air of Paris in the morning, and aches. 

Diana cannot regret her hero’s return to man’s world, no longer such a silent spectator. She can longer be content to dwell amongst man, passing like a ghost through the decades. Gone one year from the next, when it becomes too obvious to her coworkers and neighbors that she doesn’t quite age like the rest of them, that time’s tricky fingers have no grasp on the lines of her forehead, her eyes, her smile. 

Diana aches all over from being thrown into a building, from having a tree essentially be used as a baseball bat to swing into her stomach, and generally from being knocked around. Mutant dinosaurs attacking Florida is not exactly how Diana planned or wanted to spend her Wednesday evening. But there you go.

Diana permits herself to let out a small sigh, and unlocks her apartment door. She slips out of her heels, hangs up her coat, tosses her keys into the bowl resting on the entry table. Mundane tasks. 

Diana’s father is Zeus, but she takes after her mother more. While she never gave up on humanity, the long years wore on her. After defeating Ares, her acts became… smaller. Less grand. She found her armor only distracted people from her message when there were no bullets flying - so she learned to blend in with man’s world. She learned to not be distracting.  
And she helped people, in little ways. No less courageous for all that she was not crossing No Man’s land, but not quite as eye catching. 

But Diana will always regret not picking up her sword during World War II. 

She’s just putting the kettle on when her phone rings. Diana doesn’t, as a general matter, receive many phone calls. Especially not at 6:00am. 

“Bruce,” she says. 

“We have an issue,” he growls over the phone line.

***

The issue turns out to be a giant electric storm that’s encompassed the Midwestern United States.

Diana Prince calls out sick at work.

***

Steve Trevor wakes up with the hangover from hell and a man in a skintight blue bodysuit bent over him, peering at him with concern.

He thinks he can be forgiven for the completely undignified gurgle of alarm he lets out. It’s not every day you wake up after expecting to be dead. 

And Steve might not have much of a conception of what exactly the afterlife entails, but even to him a cornfield seems like an odd choice. 

“Good to finally see you awake,” the Tall Stranger says.

“Um,” Steve replies intelligibility. If he’s not going to stop this habit of waking up with beautiful brunette’s leaning over him, Steve really feels like he needs to work on his responses. He’s batting 0 right now. 

Steve is a spy; it’s his job to notice what other people would notice about the people around him, and Perfect Posture and Bulging Muscles is a very handsome man. Also, as a spy Steve’s failure to have a smart comeback makes his professional pride wither up in sadness. 

Steve struggles to sit-up. The stranger wordlessly helps, and soon Steve is swaying on his own two feet in the middle of a cornfield. The stranger kindly pretends not to notice how Steve has to weeze through a couple of breaths to clear his throat.

“Thanks,” Steve finally grunts out. 

“No problem,” Statuesque and Square Jawed says. 

Steve looks around, but yup, still in a small clearing in a cornfield. Considering current events regarding the Greek God of War posing as his boss, Steve wracks his brain and tries to remember any Greek myths about cornfields. While he got decent grades in school, he’s pretty sure this was never covered.

“So,” Steve says, “am I dead?”

“Now that, is the million dollar question.” Blue Eyes and Red Boots states.

***

Steve’s new friend turns out to be named Clark Kent.

“Or Kal-El. Or Superman. I guess secret identities don’t mean that much when you’re dead.”

“What,” is Steve’s well thought out reply.

Clark explains that he remembers dying. Steve appeared, apparently out of thin air onto the ground. He can’t leave the small clearing. When he hits the stalks of corn, some sort of barrier prevents him from leaving. Steve tries the same, but it’s like hitting an invisible wall. Steve pats all the way down, and it reaches to the ground. 

“It’s a dome shape. Goes about half a mile up.” Clark helpfully provides.

Steve throws him a look of disbelief. “Sure, yeah, whatever you say.” 

Clark has a considering look on his face as he studies Steve. “Where exactly are you from?”

“Boston,” Steve says truthfully, “But I haven’t been back in… oh, about 5 years. Not since the War started.”

“Iraq? Afghanistan?”

“What? No, I was in Belgium.” 

Clark still has that thoughtful look on his face. He’s also looking closely at Steve’s stolen German Officer uniform. 

“And can I presume that this war is how you ended up here?”

“Yes,” Steve says, not liking the carefully neutral look on Clark’s face.

“And what war were you fighting in?” Clark asks.

Steve takes another careful look at Clark. A month ago, that sort of question would have made him think his conversation partner was seriously ill. A month ago, Steve hadn’t washed up on an island inhabited only by women warriors hidden away from the rest of the world. Hell, a month ago, Clark’s weird body hugging armour would have at least warranted a second look by Steve. But Steve has already seen Diana in all her leg and arm barring glory, proudly deviant and incredibly beautiful (Steve feels his breath choke a little, unbidden the image of Diana crouched behind her shield deflecting round after round of machine gun fire conjured) and after that, Clark looks almost modest with only his neck and head showing. The cape is a nice touch, Steve thinks. 

A month ago Steve hadn’t died in a plane explosion to save the day, and left the woman he loved fighting the actual God of War. 

“The World War, the war to end all wars,” Steve replies, squinting back at Clark.

Clark hesitates a moment, and then asks, “What year do you think it is?”

“1918” Steve replies without missing a beat.

“It was 2016 when I died.” Clark says gently. “And I’m not exactly sure how long I’ve been in this cornfield.”

So far Steve and Clark have been awkwardly standing across from each other. And that, Steve has to take a step back in consideration. A long moment goes by.

“Huh,” Steve says. 

“Also, I’m an alien from outer space who was raised on Earth. I was a Superhero until I was killed defending Earth from another alien from my home planet.”

“Wait, no really, what?” Is really all Steve can say in reply to that.

***

Diana meets up with a decidedly unhappy Bruce in a private airport outside Kansas City, airport employees hushed and wide eyed. Diana can glimpse a tv monitor where footage shows the electric storm raging, the lightning almost a concrete barrier.

“What now?” She asks.

“Unless you have any leads, we wait.” 

Diana, even now, does not like waiting. But she understands it better than she once did 100 years ago. 

She raises an eyebrow as Bruce leads her outside to where he has a sleek car already pulled up to the curb. She lets him hold the door open for her on the passenger side. It makes him feel useful. “You did not have me called in and missing work only to sit around and wait. Bruce, what do you know?” 

Bruce is quiet. Diana knows he does not liking knowing, and likes even less admitting to not knowing. 

“Not much,” he finally says, navigating deftly through what little traffic fills the roads. “Just that the weather meters started picking up an anomalies roughly 48 hours ago. 20 hours ago, the storm coalesced. It’s estimated to be a two by two mile radius. So far, no teams have tried to breach the storm. It’s left everyone in a state of confusion.”

Diana hums a little to herself, thinking. She’s seen a lot, but even this… “I am not sure what to make of it.” She states. “I haven’t seen anything quite like it before.”

It reminds her a little of a battle long ago, of standing on a tarmac facing her brother. It’s not something she wants to bring up with Bruce though, not unless she has something more concrete. 

Diana and Bruce drive, facing the storm, and Diana can feel a smile curving on her lips. Diana fights for peace and goodness, but she is still an Amazon and battle sings in her veins. 

Something is coming, Diana can feel it.

***

A few miles away, Steve and Clark look up as one as lightning rips across the sky. 


End file.
